The Philosophy of the Brethren of Purity: A Linguistic Approach to Conceptual Structure and Epistemological Discourse

Abstract

This study addresses the linguistic dimensions of the Brethren of Purity's philosophy by analyzing the conceptual structure and epistemological discourse of their Epistles. It proceeds from a research problem centered on the role of language in the construction of knowledge and the formulation of philosophical conceptions among the Brethren of Purity. The study aims to analyze the central concepts of the Brethren’s discourse, to uncover its semantic, argumentative, and pragmatic features, and to elucidate the relationship between language and reason in their intellectual project. It adopts a descriptive-analytical method, supported by selected tools of discourse analysis, in order to examine the philosophical texts contained in the Epistles. The findings show that language performs a cognitive function that extends beyond communication, and that the concepts of reason, soul, wisdom, knowledge, and demonstration constitute the semantic nucleus of the Brethren’s thought. The study also reveals the Brethren of Purity’s reliance on a range of argumentative mechanisms that contributed to the construction of an Arabic philosophical discourse combining an epistemological dimension with a reformist function.